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Testing and Application of the CMAQ Mercury Model

O. Russell Bullock, Jr. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division (in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) Technical Analysis Forum Boise, ID 23 May 2007.

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Testing and Application of the CMAQ Mercury Model

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  1. O. Russell Bullock, Jr. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division (in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) Technical Analysis Forum Boise, ID 23 May 2007 Testing and Application of the CMAQ Mercury Model Disclaimer The research presented here was performed under the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and under agreement number DW13921548. This work constitutes a contribution to the NOAA Air Quality Program. Although it has been reviewed by EPA and NOAA and approved for publication, it does not necessarily reflect their policies or views.

  2. Major Atmospheric Mercury Model Testing and Application Studies • North American Mercury Model Inter-comparison Study (NAMMIS) – (2004 to present) • CMAQ-Hg modeling to support the development of the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) – (2004)

  3. CMAQ-Hg modeling to support the development of the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) • On March 15, 2005, the U.S. EPA issued the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) to permanently cap and reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs). • The CAMR builds on the U.S. EPA’s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) targeting SO2 and NOX. When fully implemented, these rules will reduce EGU emissions of mercury from 48 tons per year to 15 tons per year.

  4. CMAQ Mercury Model Configuration for CAMR • 36-km horizontal grid (112 x 148) • 14 vertical layers (hi-res in PBL) • Initial condition and boundary condition (IC/BC) data provided by GEOS-Chem global-scale model simulation • IC/BC data at 3-hr resolution

  5. Summary of Hg Emissions by Species: 2001 and 2020

  6. CMAQ-Simulated Total Hg Deposition for the 2001 Base Case(in micrograms per square meter)

  7. CMAQ-Simulated Total Hg Deposition in 2020 with CAIR and CAMR(in micrograms per square meter)

  8. Percent Reduction in Hg Deposition from the 2001 Base Case2020 with CAIR and CAMR

  9. CMAQ-Simulated Hg Wet Deposition for the 2001 Base Case(in micrograms per square meter)

  10. Observed Hg Wet Deposition in 2001 from the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN)

  11. Comparison of CMAQ to MDN Observations(annual)

  12. Comparison of CMAQ to MDN Observations(spring)

  13. Comparison of CMAQ to MDN Observations(summer)

  14. Comparison of CMAQ to MDN Observations(fall)

  15. Comparison of CMAQ to MDN Observations(winter)

  16. General Findings from CAMR Modeling • The importance of global emissions of Hg0 was greater than previously indicated from EPA’s Mercury Study Report to Congress (in 1997). • New gas-phase oxidation reactions were identified • Higher kinetic rate constants for some existing reactions • Coal-fired utility boilers contribute less than 10% to the total mercury deposition over most of the contiguous U.S., but the simulated range is 0% to 68% • 144 tons of mercury were deposited to the contiguous U.S. in 2001: 23 tons from all U.S. anthropogenic sources, 11 tons from coal-fired electric utility boilers.

  17. North American Mercury Model Intercomparison Study (NAMMIS) Motivation • Various modeling studies have been conducted to estimate the sources of atmospheric mercury (Hg) responsible for observed Hg deposition in the United States and other nations. These studies have sometimes come to rather different conclusions. • A Hg model inter-comparison study was previously conducted by the Meteorological Synthesizing Centre – East (MSC-E). This original model inter-comparison study provided valuable information about variations between models in their input data and science process treatments and about mercury transports within Europe. • The NAMMIS is a follow-on effort to apply atmospheric Hg models in a more tightly constrained testing environment where all models use the same input data and the focus of the study is on North America.

  18. North American Mercury Model Intercomparison Study (NAMMIS) Technique • Each regional-scale model uses the same inputs for initial and boundary conditions, meteorology and emissions. • Three sets of initial condition / boundary condition (IC/BC) data are used which are based on simulations of three separate global-scale models. • Each regional-scale model uses the same horizontal modeling domain. Desired Outcome • The separate effects of input data and scientific process treatments within each model can be better understood. • Better guidance can be provided to the research community regarding which scientific process uncertainties are contributing most to observed discrepancies in model simulations of Hg deposition.

  19. North American Mercury Model Intercomparison Study (NAMMIS) Global Models for IC/BC development • Chemical Transport Model (CTM) developed and applied by Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. • GEOS-Chem model developed and applied by Harvard University. • Global/Regional Atmospheric Heavy Metals (GRAHM) model developed and applied by Environment Canada. Regional Models that are the focus of the study • Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model developed and applied by NOAA and U.S. EPA. • Regional Modeling System for Aerosols and Deposition (REMSAD) developed and applied by ICF International. • Trace Element Analysis Model (TEAM) developed and applied by Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc.

  20. NAMMIS Regional Modeling Domain(same as for CAMR)

  21. Our first bit of insight was gained from looking at the boundary conditions provided from the three global models.

  22. February 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  23. February 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  24. February 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  25. July 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  26. July 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  27. July 2001 Average Lateral Boundary Values

  28. Status of the Regional Model Simulations and Results Analysis • CMAQ, REMSAD and TEAM have each been applied for all of 2001 using all three IC/BC data sets. • Air concentration fields for Hg species and wet and dry deposition patterns for total-Hg have been compared among these three models. • Wet deposition from these three models have been compared against observations from the Mercury Deposition Network.

  29. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of Hg0 (ng/m3)(surface layer)

  30. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of RGM(pg/m3)(surface layer)

  31. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of HgP(pg/m3)(surface layer)

  32. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of Hg0 (ng/m3)(layer 10)

  33. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of RGM(pg/m3)(layer 10)

  34. Annual Avg. Air Concentrations of HgP(pg/m3)(layer 10)

  35. Observed Hg Wet Deposition in 2001 from the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN)

  36. Regional Modeling Results Comparison to Observed Total Hg Wet Deposition for 2001

  37. Regional Modeling Results Comparison to Observed Total Hg Wet Deposition for 2001 R2 Correlation Factors

  38. Regional Modeling Results Comparison to Observed Total Hg Wet Deposition for 2001

  39. Regional Modeling Results Comparison to Observed Total Hg Wet Deposition for 2001

  40. General Conclusions About Modeling Accuracy • CMAQ appears have superior statistical agreement with observations of annual total Hg wet deposition in 2001. • However, this advantage is rather small in regard to the mean fractional error which is the best indication of model realism. • The relatively high fractional error versus fractional bias against a continental-scale observation set suggests that modeling skill may be adequate for national-scale assessments of average impact, but the uncertainty remains quite large for any particular location. Note: These conclusions are based on comparisons to wet deposition measurements only.

  41. Boundary Conditions and Modeling Accuracy • Observed model sensitivity to changes in Hg species concentrations at the boundary shows that global-scale transports are important to regional-scale assessments. • Based on additional analyses being performed on the CMAQ results, RGM boundary concentrations appear to be most important, but Hg0 concentrations are also important to the domain-average wet deposition and overall bias relative to observed values.

  42. Further Comments or Questions? E-mail: bullock.russell@epa.gov o.russell.bullock@noaa.gov Phone: (919) 541-1349 CAMR web site: http://www.epa.gov/air/mercuryrule/ Journal article on the NAMMIS to be submitted soon!

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